Outside Lands

I promise this is the LAST segment on Outside Lands, as I’ve been flooding my social media with endless pics. Also, last week’s blog was about previous Outside Lands festivals. Today, I just want to focus on some of the highlights of my recent three days in Golden Gate.

• Two of the three days were unusually hot for Golden Gate, which did change the vibe a bit.
• The murals around the park are always a highlight (see below).
• Most of the acts were enjoyable; the only challenge was getting around the park to see them. I have a tendency to split sets, if there are two acts I really want to see. This becomes difficult, since the two main stages are quite a ways apart (I read somewhere that they are almost a mile apart). By the end of Day 1, I had walked about 30k steps.
• As I said in the previous post, Cautious Clay is an up-and-comer to check out. Someone commented this weekend that his voice was reminiscent of Peter Gabriel. I think that’s a fair assessment.
• I was feeling very nostalgic splitting time between Blink-182 and The Counting Crows, as they marched through their familiar tracks. Blink-182 reminds me of my senior year of college, when “What’s My Age Again?” was played nonstop. Counting Crows will always remind me of my first couple years of college. “Round Here” and “Long December” will always take me back. Update: Adam Duritz also cut his hair after this show?? What the frick?
• Twenty-One Pilots had a much smaller crowd than anticipated. I’m still not a fan of their music, but they are first rate entertainers.
• I watched hip hop artist ALLBLACK perform early Saturday, and he killed it. He wasn’t originally on my list of performers to watch, but he had the audience from the beginning.
• I finally got a chance to see Delacey (I mentioned her a few blog posts back). She played on the smaller Panhandle stage early Saturday, but had people dancing in the front. Including me. I’m people. But damn, if her song “My Man” isn’t one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard all year. Again, keep an eye on her; she’s written for others (including Halsey), but she’s poised to strike out on her own.
• I was a little disappointed in Alina Baraz‘s set. Not sure if it was because her vocals were low, but I didn’t get the feels like I did when I saw her at Bottlerock in 2016. Still, she has a sultry style, and I got some great pictures of her.
• Finally also saw Hozier. For someone of his popularity, placing him on a smaller stage was a major logistical mistake. The densely packed crowd made it difficult for fans to enjoy him.
• Childish Gambino is one of the best headliners I’ve ever seen. I saw him at Coachella earlier this year, and this show trumped that. The combination of his singing and stage presence, along with effects (including fireworks during “Me and Your Mama”) were magnificent. Supposedly, he only has one or two shows left with this moniker. It’s a shame if you never got to see him perform.
• I did walk through Grass Lands, but didn’t buy anything (yes, even these goods were at festival prices). Still, a major step forward, and a good way to separate this festival from others.
• Paul Simon‘s set was really good too. His voice is struggling a bit at times, but his show overall was fun. Years ago when “Graceland” was the yuppie album of choice, I never would have imagined I’d be dancing in 2019, with a field of people to “You Can Call Me Al.” His band was fantastic, and this was definitely one of those performances you didn’t want to miss.
• All in all, this was another fun festival. I will admit that I was more exhausted this time around, which might influence whether I go next year. Cheers!

Albums/Playlists Currently Spinning

Black Moses – Channel Tres // I told you to keep an eye on him, and here he is dropping this EP today. The title is a clear homage to the album by Isaac Hayes of the same name.

Ascend – Illenium // Just came out today, and haven’t had a chance to listen to it. Will be spinning this on the road later.

The Center Won’t Hold – Sleater-Kinney // The new record produced by St. Vincent is out. Give it a spin!

Tracks Currently Spinning

I Dare You – The Regrettes // This single from the album “How Do You Love,” has an instantly recognizable Strokes-like intro. Maybe it’s because it was co-written with the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas. Give it a spin.

Body – Olivia Grace // She had a recent appearance in LA that I missed, but started listening to her music, including this latest cut.

Highwomen – The Highwomen // A nice reworking of the Jimmy Webb classic, with help from Webb himself on this version. Singer YOLA also lends her vocals.

Fractions – CRAY // She’s doing a show in LA in October at the Echo.

Graffiti – Mae Deline // New cut out today, from LA artist Mae Deline

Other Music Stuff…

Don’t forget that Echo Park Rising is this weekend! It kicked off last night, and I’ll hopefully catch some sets on Saturday. See you there?! Here’s the link (http://epr.la/schedule/), and a vid of The Marias performing in 2017. I finally caught their set this year at Outside Lands. Watch artists on the way up – the view is better!

 

Here’s my ongoing playlist, updated weekly with both new and old tracks I’m listening to.